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Theophilus Swift
Theophilus Swift (1746-1815) was an Irish poet and lawyer. Life Swift was probably born in Hertfordshire, in 1746, son of Deane Swift of Dublin, by his wife, daughter of Mrs. Martha Whiteway, his cousin. Both father and mother were cousins of poet Jonathan Swift.O'Donoghue, 228. Theophilus was educated at Oxford, matriculating at St. Mary Hall, Oxford, on 24 March 1763, and earning a B.A. in 1767. He was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1774, and, after practising for a few years, settled in Ireland on inheriting some property in Limerick by the death of his father in 1783. He lived in Dublin, where his eccentric opinions and habits attracted attention. In 1789 some hostile remarks on Colonel Charles Lennox (afterwards fourth Duke of Richmond and Lennox), in a pamphlet on Lennox's duel with the Duke of York, led to a duel between Swift and Lennox, which took place in a field near the Uxbridge Road, London, on 3 July. Swift, who was wounded, issued A Letter to the King on the Conduct of Colonel Lennox, 1789. He had subsequently some unpleasant controversies with the fellows of Trinity College, Dublin, whom he abused because his son Deane, a student there, "the cleverest lad in all Ireland," had not been awarded any distinctions at his examinations. In his Animadversions on the Fellows of Trinity College, Dublin (1794), he charged some of the fellows with having broken the rule which prohibited them from marrying. He was prosecuted for libel and was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment, while one of his adversaries, the Rev. Dr. Burrowes, was sentenced to 6 months' imprisonment for libelling him. Swift also had an angry correspondence, which was published in 1811, with the Rev. Dr. Dobbin, whose daughter, after accepting his offer of marriage, had broken her promise. Swift died in 1815 in Dublin. Writing His works are: 1. ‘The Gamblers,’ a poem (anon.), 1777. 2. ‘The Temple of Folly,’ in four cantos, London, 4to, 1787. 3. ‘Poetical Address to His Majesty,’ 4to, 1788. 4. ‘The Female Parliament,’ a poem, 4to, 1789. 5. ‘The Monster at Large,’ 8vo, 1791. 6. ‘An Essay on Rime’ (‘Transactions of Royal Irish Academy’), 1801. 7. ‘Correspondence with the Rev. Dr. Dobbin,’ 8vo, 1811. Theophilus gave a few anecdotes to Sir Walter Scott for his Life of Swift. Recognition In 1800 Swift was awarded the Cunningham Medal by the Royal Irish Academy for his essay on "The origin and progress of rhyme." Publications Poetry * The Gamblers: A poem, with notes. London: S. Hooper, 1777. * The Temple of Folly, in four cantos. London: J. Johnston, 1787. * Poetical Address to His Majesty. Worcester, UK: J. Holl / J. Bew, J. Stockdale, London / et al, 1788. * The Female Parliament; or, The regency considered. London: J. Debrett, 1789. *''Prison Pindarics; or, A new year's gift from Newgate''. Dublin: T. Burne, 1795. Non-fiction *''Letter to the King: Iin which the conduct of Mr. Lenox ... is fully considered''. London: James Ridgway, 1789. *''The Monster at Large; or, The innocence of Rhynwick Williams vindicated''. London: J. Ridgway, 1791. *''Animadversions on the Fellows of Trinity College''. Dublin: Thomas Burnside, 1794. *''Reply to the Answer of the Rev. Joseph Stopford''. Dublin: Thomas Burnside, 1795. *''Hear him! Hear him! In a letter to the Right Hon. John Foster''. Dublin: J. Stockdale, 1799. *"An Essay on Rime" in Transactions of Royal Irish Academy IX (1801). * The Accomplished Quack: A treatise on political charlatanism. Dublin: 1811.Theophilus Swift, Ricorso. Web, Dec. 9, 2016. *''The Touch-stone of Truth: Uniting Mr. Swift's late correspondence with the Rev. Doctor Dobbin, and his family''. Dublin: 1811. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Theophilus Swift, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Dec. 9, 2016. See also *List of Irish poets References * . Wikisource, Web, Dec. 9, 2016. Notes External links ;About *>Theophilus Swift at Ricorso * Swift, Theophilus Category:1746 births Category:1815 deaths Category:18th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Irish lawyers Category:Irish poets Category:Poets